Who Bonds You?

In the previous post, I defined the Authentication Cliff: verification is expensive, fakery is cheap, and the default response is total surveillance.

To avoid that future, we must stop asking the wrong question.

The Wrong Question: "Who Are You?"

When trust fails, institutions ask, "Who are you?".
Answering this comprehensively means exposing yourself comprehensively. It builds a surveillance graph where your identity is queryable by anyone with access to the record.

But for most economic transactions, institutions do not need to know your biography. They need to know something specific: If something goes wrong, will someone pay?.

The Right Question: "Who Bonds You?"

This shifts the frame from identity to accountability. You do not need to expose your life; you need a credible intermediary to stake capital on your claims.

This is how surety bonds have always worked. A bonding company does not require you to publish your medical records; it requires you to prove you are insurable. If the claim is false, the bond pays out.

The Mechanism: Bonded Attributes

We can build digital identity on this financial bedrock.

1. Bonded Issuers: Licensed entities (banks, fiduciaries, tech platforms) issue credentials attesting to specific attributes (e.g., "Over 18," "Solvent to $10k").

2. Skin in the Game: To issue, they must post a solvency bond.

3. Strict Liability: If an issuer vouches for a claim that is materially false, the bond pays out. No negligence analysis, no "we tried." Truth becomes a financial product.

Privacy by Default

Crucially, this system enables Unlinkability.

• The Issuer knows who you are (to vet you).

• The Relying Party (e.g., a website) knows you are bonded.

• Neither knows the whole story. The Issuer cannot track where you use the credential; the Relying Party cannot see your underlying identity.

The surveillance graph is broken. We achieve accountability (someone pays if fraud occurs) without omniscience (no one sees everything).